Adjustable reclining chair or the like



July 23, 1940. A. LORENZ ET AL ADJUSTABLE RECLINING CHAIR OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 4, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 23, 1940. A. LORENZ ET AL ADJUSTABLE RECLINING CHAIR OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 4, 1938 INVENTOR.

A/VTO/V ZORENZ 4W0 Ag/DREAS GAAL Z ATTORNEY.

Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED 2,208,800 g ADJUSTABLE RECLINING CHAIR on THE LIKE Anton Lorenz and Andreas Gaal, Berlin, Germany Application February 4, 1938, SerialgNo. 188,664

r In Germany May 16, 1936 V a Claims. (01. 155-54) Our invention relates to an adjtistablereclining chair or the like, and more particularly to a reclining chair, in which the front end of the seat is pivoted to the support, the rear end of 8 the seat is hinged to the back-rest, and the rear end of the seat is lowered, when the parts of the chair are moved from the sitting position into the reclining position.

One of the objects of our invention is to pro- 10 vide a reclining chair of the above described type,

the parts of which may be brought into any desired reclining position, without the user leaving the chair.

Another object of our invention is to provide a reclining chair, in which the angle between the back-rest and the seat is gradually increased, when the movable parts of the chair are adjusted from the sitting position to the reclining position.

A further object of our invention is to provide a reclining chair, in which means are arranged for an automatic return of the parts of the chair into the sitting position, when the user of the chair leaves the chair.

Still another object of our invention is to provide adjustable resilient means for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position, by means of which any desired resiliency of the chair may be obtained.

Still a further object of our invention is to provide a reclining chair of the above described type, in which the movable parts thereof may be locked in the sitting position.

A further object of our invention is to provide a reclining chair of the above described type with a leg-rest, which is automaticallypropelled from a retracted position into an operative po-v sition, when the parts of the chair are brought into a reclining position.

40 In order to carry out our invention into practice, we provide an adjustable reclining chair comprising a support, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of the seat being pivoted to said support, the rear end of the seat being pivoted to said back-rest, and'guiding link means, one end of said guiding link-means beingpivoted to said support at a point not higherthan the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the other end of said guiding link-means being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest, and said seat and said guiding link-means being pivoted to points of thesupport spaced from each other, whereby said intermediate point'of the back-rest is guided along a continuous circular path and the angle between the, seat and the back-rest is increased when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position. a

The above mentioned objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantages will be I more fully disclosed in the following specification reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of an adjust- 10 able reclining chair according to one embodiment of our invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspecive view of the reclining chair as shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a ll portion of the chair shown in Fig. 1, in an enlarged scale illustrating the resilient means for returning the movable parts of the chair into the sitting position,

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 20 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view from the rear of the upper portion of the back-rest assembly of the chair shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on line 25 6-6 of Fi 5.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I indicates the support or frame of the chair, which is formed of tubular material and rests on the ground.

Casings or brackets 6 and 6a respectively are 30 secured to the upper end of the support I on each side of the chair. Preferably, the casings aremade of sheet metal and are of U-shape. As best shown in Fig.3, the upper portion of each casing is covered by a removable plate 30, 35 which is secured to the casing by screws 32 and 32a. The front end of the-seat frame 8 carrying the upholstered part 31 is pivoted to said casings or brackets 6 and 6a at l and 1a respectively. The rear end of the seat frame 8 is piv- 40 otedto the back-rest. Fig.2 shows the pivot 9 connecting the seat frame with the lower end of the'right hand side bar ll] of the back-rest, a similar pivot between the lower end of the left hand side bar Illa of the back-rest and the seat 45 frame 8 is not shown in Fig. 2. Guiding links 2 and 2a of tubular material are arranged on each side of the chair. The lower end of the link 2.is pivoted to the casing or bracket 6 at 3,

and its upper end is pivoted to an intermediate 50 point of the back-rest at 4. The link 2 is bent in such a manner, that its lower end is substantially in alignment with the upper portion of the support I and its upper end is substantially in a horizontal position, when the parts of the chair a are in sitting position, as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus. the link 2 forms an armrest, and a member 5 may be mounted on the upper end of the link, so that the arm-rest may be extended in any suitable manner. Likewise, the link 2a is hinged to the casing So by a pivot (not shown in Fig. 2) and is pivoted to the backrest at 4a. Furthermore, the link 2a carries the member 5a.

Fig. 1 shows the extreme reclining position of the chair in dash lines. If the parts of the chair are moved into the reclining position, the rear end of the seat 8 is lowered by swinging the seat about the pivots I and la. The back-rest, which is hinged to the rear end of the seat, must follow the lowering movement of said rear end of the seat. At the same time, however, the guiding link 2. which is hinged to the back-rest and to the support I is rotated about its pivot 3 and guides the intermediate point 4 of the back-rest along a circular path 40 the center of which being the point 3. As the centers 3 and I are spaced from each other and the center 3 is not higher than the horizontal plane of the center I, the back-rest is rotated about its pivot 9 by means of the guiding link 2 and the angle between the back-rest and the seat is increased, when the rear end of the seat is lowered and the parts of the chair with respect to each other are brought into reclining position. Thus, the inclinations of the seat and the back-rest are governed by the positioning and spacing of the centers I and 3 and by the length of the two radii, i. e. the length of the seat and the distance between the points 3 and 4 and the distance between points 9 and 4. As will be apparent, the movable parts of the chair may be brought into any position between the sitting position shown in full lines and the extreme reclining position shown in dash lines, while the user of the chair occupies same.

If the back-rest is in a reclined position, it is desirable to extend same to a certain degree, so that the user of the chair may comfortably rest his head on the chair. For this purpose, we provide a movable and adjustable head-rest on the back-rest. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6, slide members II and I la, which have a U-shaped cross-section and embrace the side bars III and Illa of the back-rest, are movably arranged on said side bars I0 and la. The head-rest comprises the bars I2 and I2a, ribbon-like springs I5 and I5 secured to said bars I2 and l2a, and a strip I4 of flexible material attached to said springs I5 and I5. The connection of the headrest with the back-rest is identical on both sides of the chair, and for simplicity of description only the connection on one side is described. The bar In is provided with a hole I20 at its lower end. A threaded bolt III) having a diameter smaller than the diameter of said hole I20 passes through said hole for a pivotal connection between the bar I2a and the slide member Ila. A hand wheel l3a is firmly connected with the outer end of the threaded bolt H0. The inner end of the threaded bolt is screwed into a threaded hole of the slide member I Ia. A spring washer I30 loosely arranged on the bolt III] is interposed between the slide member Ila and the bar l2a. The inner end of the bolt lIll may be tightly pressed against the side bar Ilia by a rotation of the hand wheel I3a. When the inner end of the bolt I Ill is pressed against the side bar Ilia, the shoulder I3I of the hand wheel I3a is pressed against the outer side of the bar I2a,

the inner side of which being under the action of the spring washer I30. Thus, the slide mem bers II, Ila may be adjusted in a certain position on the side bars I0, Illa and at the same time a certain relative position between the headrest I2, I20, I4 and the slide members II. IIa may be secured. In the sitting position of the chair shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, the slide members II, Ila and thc-head-rest are in such a position, that the strip I4 snugly covers the upper end of the upholstered portion 33 of the backrest. If it is desired to extend the back-rest in the reclined position shown in dash-lines in Fig. l, the locking means I3, I3a, III are loosened, and the slide members II, IIa are displaced on the side bars into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 in which the head-rest I4, I5, I5 clears the upper end of the upholstered portion 30 and the bolts III) are near the upper end of the side bars I0, Illa. Then the head-rest is swung into the desired position, the bars I2, In of the headrest rotating about the bolts 0, whereupon the locking means I3, l3a, (I are tightened for holding the sliding members II, Ila in the adjusted position on the side bars I0, Illa and for locking the inclined position of the head-rest.

The leg-rest comprises the frame I6 carrying the upholstered portion 38. Lugs 33 are secured to the lower side of the seat frame 8 on each side of the chair. The leg-rest frame I6 is provided with pins 34 journalled in said lugs. Said pins 34 are rigidly secured to the leg-rest fr me I8. As best shown in Fig. 3, a disc 35 is also arranged on said pin 34. Said disc is rigidly secured to the pin 34 in any suitable manner. One end of a connecting rod 36 is pivoted to said disc 35 at 360, the other end of said connecting rod is pivoted to the link 2. Thus, if the link 2 rotates about its pivot 3, when the parts of the chair are brought into the reclining position, the rod 36 rotates the disc 35 and the pin 34, so that the leg-rest is swung from its retracted position below the seat 8 into its lifted operative position as shown in dash-lines in Fig. 1. It may be mentioned that the pin 34 is also swung about the axis of the pivot I, when the seat 8 is rotated about said pivot 1 during the adjustment of the reclining position, so that an additional movement of the pivot 360 about the axis of the pin 34 occurs, whereby the advancing speed of the leg-rest 8 from its retracted position into its lifted operative position is obtained.

In order to return the movable parts of the chair from the reclining position into the sitting position, we provide the following mechanism. Leaf springs I'I consisting of a plurality of spring plates of different lengths are slidably and telescopically arranged in the upper tubular end of the support I and in the adjacent lower tubular end of the link 2 on each side of the chair. The upper portion of the leaf spring I1 is inserted in a sleeve 2i and is rigidly held therein. The sleeve 2| may slide in the link 2, and the lower portion of the leaf spring Il may slide in the support I. The sleeve 2I has two portions 2| of reduced diameter for reducing the friction during a displacement of the sleeve in the tubular link 2. The lower end of the link 2 is provided with a slot 200. The bolt of an adjusting screw 23, which is screwed into a threaded hole ZIlI (Fig. 4) of the sleeve 2I and a threaded hole 202 of the spring body I'I, passes through said slot 200 and a non-threaded hole 203 of a curved clamping plate 22, which embraces a portion of the tubular end of the link 2. If the screw 23 is loosened, the clamping plate 22 permits an upward or downward shifting of the sleeve 2| and spring I! by means of the projecting head of the screw 23 for the adjustment of any desired position of the spring within the tubes l and 2. The sleeve 2| and the spring ll may be locked in any adjusted position by screwing the screw 23 into the sleeve 2| and spring l1, whereby the sleeve 2| is drawn against the inner wall of the tube 2 and the head of the screw abuts against the clamping plate 22 pressing same against the outer wall of the tube 2.

The upper end of the tubular support has a short slot I which is arranged on the same side as the slot 200 of the tube 2. Furthermore, the upper end of the tubular support I has a long recess or slot 2l0 opposite to the slot I00. Said slot 2l0 is covered by the casing 6 and permits a deflection of the spring I] under the load of the user of the chair as shown in dash-lines in Fig. 3. Two guiding bars 20 (only one is shown in Fig. 3) are attached to opposite inside walls of the casing 5 near to the recess 2 Ill. The guide bars are spaced from each other, so that the spring I! may pass between them, when the spring is deflected as shown in dash-lines. The outermost and longest spring plate of the leaf spring is provided with a hook-like member I 8 secured to its lower end. A roller is is movably arranged in the space between the spring I! and the guiding bars 20. v

If the leaf spring is in the position shownin full lines in Fig. 3 and the chair comes underthe load of a user, the link 2 is rotated in clockwise. direction about the pivot 3. This rotation of the link 2 causes a deflection of the spring I'I, so that an intermediate point thereof abuts against the roller 19 and presses same against the guiding bars 20 substantially in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3. Thus, only the portion of the spring H, which extends from said intermediate point to the upper end of the spring is deflected, so that the seat may yield only to a certain degree. If an increased yield-- ing efiect is desired,-the spring I1 is shifted upwardly and adjusted in a higher position by means of the, screw 23. Thus, the active length of the spring between its intermediate point bearing against the rollerv l9 and its upper end is increased, and in turn the resiliency of the chair is increased. If the spring I1 is still further moved upwardly, the hook I3 engages the roller is and moves same along the guide bars 20. Fig. 3 illustrates in dash-lines the deflection of the spring l1, if its hook l8 engages the roller is and presses same against an intermediate point of the guide bars 20. The resiliency of the chair may be still more increased, if the spring I1, is adjusted in such a high position, that the roller l9 abuts against the upper curved end of the bars 20, which determines the end position of the roller. In this position the deflection-of the spring reaches a maximum and is about ten times the deflection of the spring, if the latter is in the position shown in full lines in Fig.3. As will be apparent, the adjustment of the spring II in various positions by means of the adjusting device 22, 23 provides an adjustment of the resiliency of the chair and determines the extreme reclining position, which may be obtained, it the chair is under a certain load.

If the parts of the chair are in reclining position and the user of the chair wishes to return to a sitting position or to rise from the chair, he leans his body forward and transfers the weight ofhis body to the front portion of the chair by pulling himself up. Then, the springs I! return the movable parts 'of the chair into the sitting position. If the screws 23 are loosened prior to the reestablishment of the sitting position, the springs I! slide downwardly by their own weight into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, as soon as the ends of the link 2 and thesupport I are in alignment with each other.

In some cases, it may be desirable to lock the parts of the chair in the sitting position and to prevent a reclining position thereof. For this purpose, we provide a locking lever 24 keyed to a shaft 25 journalled in the casing 6. One end of said shaft 25 projects from the casing, and a hand lever 21 is secured thereto. A weight 29 is attached to the lever 24 by means of a screw 29', and a cam 28 is provided at the hub of the lever 24. If it is desired to lock the parts of the chair in the sitting position, the locking lever 24 is brought into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3 by means of the hand lever 21, so that the free end of the locking lever 24 abuts against the leaf spring I! at a point, in which a deflection of the spring cannot take place under the load of the user. The weight 29 holds the looking lever 24 in this position and the cam 28 hearing against the wall of the casing G prevents a further downward movement of the locking lever. If it is desired to obtain a reclining position of the chair, the locking lever 24 is lifted by means of the hand lever 2'! and is brought into the position shown in dash-lines in Fig. 3, so that its free. end is disengaged from the spring I1,

and the latter may be deflected. The cam 28 by letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a support, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said support, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, and guiding link-means, one end of saidguiding link-means being pivoted to said support at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the otherend of said guiding link-means being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest, and said seat and said guidinglink-means being pivoted to points of the support spaced from each other, whereby said intermediate point of the back-rest is guided along a continuous circular path and the-angle between the seat and the back-rest is increased when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position. 7

2. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a support, a' seat, a back-rest, the

front end of said seat beingpivoted to said support, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding link means, one end of said guiding link-means being pivoted to said support at a point not higherthan the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the other end of said guiding link-means being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest, and said seat and said guiding link means being plvoted to points of the support spaced from each other; whereby said intermediate point of the back-rest is guided along a continuous circular path and the angle between the seat and the back-rest is increased when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, and resilient means mounted on said support for returning the parts of the chair from the reclining position into the sitting position.

3. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a support, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said support, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding links on each side of the chair, one end of each guiding link being pivoted to said support at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the other end of each guiding link being hinged to an intermediate point of said backrest, each guiding link having a portion bent to extend substantially perpendicular to the backrest to form an arm-rest, and said seat and said guiding links being pivoted to spaced points on each side of the support, whereby said intermediate point of the back-rest is guided along a continuous circular path and the angle between the seat and the back-rest is increased when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, and resilient means mounted on said support for returning the parts of the chair from the reclining position into the sitting position.

4. An adjustable reclining chair as claimed in claim 2, said resilient means consisting of adjustable springs, and means being arranged for locking said springs in any adjusted position.

5. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a tubular support at each side of the chair, said tubular support having an upwardly extending end portion at each side of the chair, brackets secured to said support on each side of the chair, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said brackets, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding links of tubular material on each side of the chair, one end of each guiding link being pivoted to one of said brackets at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat and spaced from said front pivot of the seat. said end of each guiding link being substantially in alignment with the adjacent tubular end of the support when the parts of the chair are in sitting position, the other end of each guiding link being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest for guiding same along a continuous circular path when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, at least one leaf spring for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position, said leaf spring being slidably and telescopically arranged in said adjacent tubular ends of the support and the guiding link, and adjusting means connected with said leaf spring for holding same in any desired position.

6. An adjustable reclining chair as claimed in claim 5, in which a manually operatable locking lever is pivoted to at least one bracket on said support, said locking lever abutting against said leaf spring in its operative position for preventing a deflection of the leaf spring and locking the parts of the chair in the sitting position.

'7. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a tubular support at each side of the chair, said tubular support having an upwardly extending end portion at each side of the chair, casings secured to said support on each side of the chair, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said casing, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding links of tubular material on each side of the chair, one end of each guiding link being pivoted to one of said casings at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat and spaced from said front pivot of the seat, said end of each guiding link being substantially in alignment with the adjacent tubular end of the support when the parts of the chair are in sitting position, the other end of each guiding link being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest for guiding same along a continuous circular path when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, at least one leaf spring for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position, said leaf spring being slidably and telescopically arranged in said adjacent tubular ends of the support and the guiding link, the tubular end of said support having a slot facing said casing, guiding bars arranged in said casing near to said slot, a rollermovably arranged between said leaf spring and said guiding bars, a member secured to said leaf spring adapted to engage said roller and press same against said guiding bars when the leaf spring is deflected, and adjusting means connected with said leaf spring for holding same in any desired position.

8. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a support, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said support, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding link-means, one end of said guiding link-means being pivoted to said support at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the other end of said guiding link-means being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest for guiding same along a continuous circular path when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, said seat and said guiding link-means being pivoted to points of the support spaced from each other, a legrest, said leg-rest being pivoted to said seat and being in a retracted position when the parts of the chair are in sitting position, a link mechanism connecting said leg-rest with said guiding link-means for propelling said leg-rest when the parts of the chair are moved into the reclining position, and resilient means mounted on said support for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position.

9. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a support, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said support, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest, guiding link-means, one end of said guiding link-means being pivoted to said support at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat, the other end of said guiding link-means being hinged to an intermediate point of said back-rest for guiding same along a continuous circular path when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, said seat and said guiding link-means being pivoted to points of the support spaced from each other, lugs attached to said seat, a leg-rest, pins rigidly secured to said leg-rest and journalled in said lugs, said leg-rest being in a retracted position below said seat when the parts of the chair are in sitting position, a link-mechanism connecting said pins with said guiding link-means for propelling said leg-rest when the parts of the chair are moved into the reclining position, and resilient means mounted on said support for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position.

10. An adjustable reclining chair or the like comprising: a tubular support at each side of the chair, said tubular support having an upwardly extending end portion at each side of the chair, brackets secured to said support on each'side of the chair, a seat, a back-rest, the front end of said seat being pivoted to said brackets, the rear end of said seat being pivoted to said back-rest. guiding links of tubular material on each side of the chair, one end of each guiding link being pivoted to one of said brackets at a point not higher than the horizontal plane of the front pivot of the seat and spaced from said front pivot of the seat, said end of each guiding link being substantially in alignment with the adjacent tubular end of the support when the parts of the chair are in sitting posi- 20 tion, the other end of each guiding link being hinged toan intermediate point of said backrest for guiding same along a continuous circular path when the parts of the chair are moved from a sitting position into a reclining position, a legrest, said leg-rest being pivoted to said seat and being in a retracted position when the parts of the chair are in sitting position, link mechanisms connecting said leg-rest with said guiding links for propelling said leg-rest when the parts of the chair are moved into the reclining position, at least one leaf spring for returning the parts of the chair into the sitting position, said leaf spring being slidably and telescopically arranged in said adjacent tubular ends of the support and the guiding link, and adjusting means connected with said leaf spring for holding same in any desired position.

ANTON LORENZ.

ANDREAS GAAL. 

